The Kapellbrücke, or Chapel Bridge, is a covered wooden footbridge across the Reuss River in Lucerne, first documented in 1367 and likely built decades earlier. It takes its name from the nearby St. Peter’s Chapel and remains one of Switzerland’s most recognizable landmarks and Europe’s oldest surviving wooden bridge of its kind.
Beside the bridge stands the octagonal Wasserturm, or water tower, which predates the bridge by roughly a century and has served over the years as a prison, treasury, and archive. Inside the bridge’s roof trusses hang a cycle of 17th-century paintings by Hans Heinrich Wägmann depicting the history of the Swiss Confederation; a 1993 fire destroyed most of the original bridge and about two-thirds of the paintings, with the structure rebuilt shortly after.
The bridge is open 24 hours a day and free to cross. A quick walk across takes 10 to 15 minutes, but most visitors spend 30 minutes to 1.5 hours taking in the paintings, water tower, and river views.
